With the proliferation of wireless communication systems, compatible handheld communication devices are becoming more prevalent, as well as advanced. Whereas in the past such handheld communication devices were typically limited to either voice transmission (cell phones) or text transmission (pagers and PDAs), today's consumer often demands a multifunctional device capable of performing both types of transmissions, including even sending and receiving e-mail. Furthermore, these higher-performance devices can also be capable of sending and receiving other types of data including that which allows the viewing and use of Internet websites. These higher level functionalities necessarily require greater user interaction with the devices through included user interfaces (UIs) which may have originally been designed to accommodate making and receiving telephone calls and sending messages over a related Short Messaging Service (SMS). As might be expected, suppliers of such mobile communication devices and the related service providers are anxious to meet these customer requirements, but the demands of these more advanced functionalities have in many circumstances rendered the traditional user interfaces unsatisfactory, a situation that has caused designers to have to improve the UIs through which users input information and control these sophisticated operations.
Many mobile communication devices allow a user to adjust settings for personalized operation of the device. For example a user may designate the mobile communication device to ring, or vibrate, or be silent upon reception of a call. Similarly, a user may designate the mobile communication device to ring, or vibrate, or be silent upon reception of a text message or email. Furthermore, a user may designate a specific ring to be played based on the specific identity of the sending device of the call.
Additionally, a mobile communication device can be equipped to determine the geographical position of the device. A device may calculate its geographical position using triangulation or using the Global Positioning System (GPS). It is desirable to configure the mobile device to improve the ability of the user to customize the performance of the mobile communication device.